How to Start a Small Business Baking Cookies

by Devra Gartenstein, Demand Media

Everybody loves cookies.

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If you love to bake, a cookie business might be an ideal way to channel some creative energy into a money-making venture. Cookies can be everyday treats or artisan creations. Either way, they are satisfying and comforting, and appeal to both children and adults. There is plenty of competition in the cookie business, but if you craft your offerings carefully and find the right niche, you will be able to build a loyal clientele.

Step 1

Craft a focus for your cookie business. If you are skilled at the basics and know how to bake perfect traditional cookies, base your business model on providing an accessible, happy comfort food. If you are interested in innovative cookie flavors, base your business model on providing a unique product to a niche market. If you also enjoy making jam, develop a line of fruit-filled cookies that will showcase your range of skills.

Step 2

Research different venues for selling the cookies you bake. You may choose to build a wholesale business, baking in volume and selling your cookies through distributors or retail stores. If you take this route, you will likely need to develop packaging to showcase your product and also to provide basic information about it, such as weight and ingredients. Alternately, you might choose to open a retail location selling cookies, such as a bakery that also features coffee drinks. In that case, you will need to lease and outfit a storefront location. Your might also choose to launch a website and ship your cookies directly to customers, or to outfit a mobile truck and sell your cookies in different neighborhoods.

Find a commercial kitchen where you can legally bake your cookies. This may involve subleasing from a business with an existing commercial kitchen or signing a lease and building a commercial kitchen of your own. Building your own kitchen will involve selecting a location and working with your local health department, as well as a series of contractors to install ventilation, refrigeration, plumbing and gas lines in accordance with health and building codes. Health codes may vary based on whether you are working with your local health department to set up a kitchen for producing a product to sell at the retail level, or whether you are working with your state's agriculture department to outfit a kitchen for selling cookies wholesale. If you choose to sublease an existing commercial kitchen, you will make a substantially smaller capital outlay but you will need to interface your operations with those of another company.

About the Author

Devra Gartenstein has owned and run a variety of food businesses for more than 20 years. She has published two cookbooks: "The Accidental Vegan" and "Local Bounty." Gartenstein holds Master of Arts degrees in philosophy and English literature.

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